Ye have heard that
it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22

but I say unto
you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger
of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall
be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of the hell of fire.

Mat 5:23

If therefore thou
art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath aught against thee,

Mat 5:24

leave there thy
gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Mat 5:25

Agree with thine
adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply
the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee
to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Mat 5:26

Verily I say unto
thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid
the last farthing.

vv.21-22 The
judgment in verse 22 is of the same kind as the judgment in verse 21. Though
it is not the judgment of the Jewish court, it nonetheless proceeds from the
preliminary judgment given at the city gate to the judgment of the council
until it finally reaches the very judgment of God. These words are spoken to
Christians. Due to the fact that those who stood before Him at that moment
were Jews, the Lord naturally used expressions with a Jewish background.

“Angry” is a
boiling up within. Mark records that our Lord got angry. The Bible has not
taught that allangers
will be judged. It only states that some angers offend brethren as well as
God. The verse “Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your
wrath” in Ephesians 4.26 is suggesting for us not to be angry to the extent
of sinning nor to be controlled by anger. Also, there is a time limit to any
anger: one ought to control his temper.

Why equate
anger with killing? Because frequently it is only our position or physical
environment or ethical teaching that keeps us from actually killing; but the
thought of killing is already conceived in our heart.

Since judgment
is mentioned here, how can we say that Christians will not be judged at all?
We cannot agree with some people who advocate the theory of no judgment for
Christians. The word “brother” is used here and the demands are high
here—all indications that these words are not addressed to non-believers.

The
Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, and the Brethren follow the thought of
John Calvin, who promoted the teaching that salvation is predestinated and
that therefore all who are saved will never perish. On the other hand, the
Methodists and some of the Pentecostals follow the teaching of Arminius, who
stressed the position that man has a free will. Seeing from the Bible that
many Christians do fall or have fallen, the Arminians today uphold the view
that Christians may yet perish.

Though Calvin
seems to have gained the upper hand in his exalting of God, it must
also be said that Arminius has his ground too. I do not believe we should
overturn a concept which seems to have less scriptural support (the Arminian)
with a concept that apparently has more scriptural support (the
Calvinistic). On the contrary, we should put all the Scriptures together and
let the Scriptures themselves decide all issues.

“They shall
never perish,” says the Lord (John 10.28). Eternity exists before the
creation of the heavens and the earth, and it extends beyond the events of
the book of Revelation. In between these two is the temporary period which
can also be called time. Between creation and the events of the book of
Revelation Christians may receive punishment during this period. In 2
Corinthians 5 we read: “we must all be made manifest before the
judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the
body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (v.10).
Some will receive bad recompense. If this is not punishment, what is it?
Likewise, Luke 12 states: “And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and
made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many
stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much
be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more”
(vv.47-48). The beating is before the judgment seat. It incurs not only the
loss of reward but also the possibility of being beaten. With regard to the
words “suffer loss” in 1 Corinthians 3.15 someone has said that any loss
without the inflicting of suffering cannot be reckoned as the suffering of
loss. The consequence of “abide not” is to “cast them into the fire” (John
15.6). This without a doubt speaks of punishment. Revelation 2.11
declares: “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death”; in
other words, he who does not overcome will be hurt of the second death. Who
shall reign with Christ for a thousand years? The answer: “Blessed and holy
is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death
hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20.6).

According to
the original rendering of John 10.28, “they shall never perish” should be
translated “in no wise shall they perish for ever"*—in other words,
if believers should sin and fail to repent, they will suffer temporarily
what the unbelievers will suffer eternally.

Purgatory as
promoted by the Roman Catholic Church commences, in its view, at the time of
death; and indulgence is promised by the Church through the Mass and other
means. To this thought we vigorously object. Nevertheless, we cannot use
heresy, either, to oppose the fact that Christians may receive punishment.
We can only rely on the Scriptures to prove that the Matthew passage before
us has reference to the judgment-seat of Christ.

One sister in
the Lord has said it well: Sin in an unbeliever is sin, but so too is sin in
a believer sin.

Robert Govett
translates “raca” in verse 22 as “useless”; others, as “stupid” or
“worthless”. “Moreh” (v.22 mg.) is probably Syrian, and it is more
appropriate to translate it as “rebel”. Judging by the context, calling a
brother “raca” is a deeper reaction than getting angry with a brother, and
the judgment of scolding a brother by using the term moreh is stronger than
all, even to the extent of placing oneself “in danger of the hell of fire”.
Hence the meaning of moreh must be weightier than that of raca. If racy
means stupid, moreh, according to G. H. Pember, should mean rebel.

The very
mentioning of the hell of fire here indicates that Christians may not escape
judgment. This situation cannot be applied to unbelievers, for they do not
go to hell just because they denounce people.

v.23 This is
not offering sacrifice, but offering gifts. Offering sacrifice is for the
sake of sin; offering gifts is to please God, an action completely
dissociated from sin. “Hath aught against thee” shows that the person has
done something wrong.

v.24 The
demand here is several times stronger than what is required in the Old
Testament. Not only the person and the gift must be right, even the
spiritual condition must equally be right. It should also be pointed out
that when the Lord spoke these words, ceremonial law had not yet been
abrogated; so that in using the words “offering thy gifts at the altar” He
gave His hearers some local background.

v.25 The
“adversary” is the plaintiff. The word itself implies that there is something
against you. “In the way” means that there is still opportunity for you to be
reconciled before you appear before the judge.

Three reasons why
you should be reconciled with your adversary quickly are:

(1) Perhaps he may
die and you will never have the chance to be reconciled with him.

(2) Perhaps you
may die and so you cannot be reconciled to him.

(3) Perhaps the
Lord may come back, and likewise you will have no opportunity to be reconciled
with your adversary.

If you have done
anything wrong against someone and have not made it right, his sigh or cry will
prevent your prayer from reaching God. The voice of Abel made Cain restless.

“The judge” points
to the Lord; “the officer” points to the angel; “prison” is where freedom is
deprived you and where darkness prevails.

Those who are
“cast into prison” shall not live gloriously as does that group of people who
follow the Lamb wherever He goes. However, this is not a being permanently
cast into prison. It merely indicates the possibility of Christians being
judged.

v.26 Since sooner
or later the debt must be repaid, why not pay it today? “Come out” —This will
happen in the age to come, which is the millennial age. This is called
forgiveness in the age to come, which is the millennial age. This is called
forgiveness in the age to come.